


The One Where Klaus Knocks Up Stefan

by ywhiterain



Series: The One Where Klaus Knocks Up Stefan [2]
Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ensemble Cast, M/M, Mpreg, timelines are for chumps
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-17
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-10-06 19:22:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10342911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ywhiterain/pseuds/ywhiterain
Summary: After Klaus knocks up Stefan, their respective families and friends gather in order to figure how it happened and to decide how best to protect Stefan and the baby. Surprisingly, things do not go smoothly.Temporarily on hiatus.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ruthseriouslydothis](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=ruthseriouslydothis).



> This will be updated weekly on Fridays. It's mostly complete, but I'm still figuring out how many chapters I want to break it into.

Damon picked up on the first ring. "Where the hell are you?"

"I'm in New Orleans," Stefan said.

"With Klaus?" Damon said.

 _In more ways then one,_ Stefan thought but said, "Yes."

"If you wanted me to skin you alive you could have just asked," Damon said, _snarled_ , and Stefan tightened his hold on his phone. "Get your ass back here now."

"I can't," Stefan said. He could hear Elijah and Rebekah talking downstairs though they were speaking too quietly for Stefan to make out what they were saying. He really should have eaten some people blood when he'd decided to visit Klaus. "Something has come up."

"This better be good," Damon said.

Oh, it was.

*

"I'm going to kill him," Damon said.

Elena didn't look up from her phone. "Stefan or Klaus?"

"Klaus," Damon said and slammed his foot on the gas. "Stefan." He jerked the steering wheel to the left. "Both of them."

"You'll get a ticket if you keep that up," Elena said while her fingers moved across her phone. 

"I hope I get pulled over," Damon said. He leaned close to Elena, pressed his lips against her ear. "I could use a quick meal."

Elena shoved his head aside. "You missed your turn."

"I'm taking the long way," Damon said. 

Elena turned away from her phone and to Damon. After studying his face for a moment, she said, "I'm this close to offering you pity sex."

Damon's rage halted.

Elena grabbed the steering wheel and made a slightly illegal turn. When they were on the highway she fell back into her seat and crossed her arms. 

"That was cheating," Damon said.

"Are you thinking rationally?"

"That's beside the point," Damon said, "using sex against me is completely beneath you."

"No it's not," Elena said.

It was true so Damon scowled. 

*

"I really don't see why I need a baby-sitter with that," Stefan said and pointed at the chains wrapped around ankles that were connected to frame of the bed. Magical chains. Magical chains that only Klaus could take off. Chained to a bed with magical chains that only Klaus could take off in a guest bedroom in Klaus' New Orleans house. 

"I like to cover all my bases," Klaus said and then he leaned over to give him a kiss.

Stefan bit straight through his top lip.

Klaus wiped the blood off with his thumb and licked it up with a grin. "Save that for when there aren't children present."

Josh rolled his eyes. "If that's as kinky as you two get, consider me massively unimpressed."

"Perhaps that calls for a demonstration," Klaus said, giving Stefan a thoughtful look.

"I don't like bondage," Stefan said, making Klaus laugh as he walked out of the room.

Josh took one look at Stefan's clenched jaw before deciding not to engage. He picked up the magazine that was lying on the nightstand. Good Homes and Gardening. Three articles later, he dropped it back on the table with a sigh. "Okay, I'll bite. Why did you sleep with Klaus?"

Stefan stared at him.

"He's not bad looking, I'll give you that," Josh continued, "but there are plenty of hot vampires guys who are at least slightly less psychotic than Klaus Mikaelson within a ten mile distance alone."

"That's a very long and ultimately very stupid story," Stefan said.

"We have nothing but time," Josh said, "You're probably going to be stuck here for nine months." He gave his best smile. "It'll be a great way strive off the boredom."

"I'd rather not," Stefan said. He added, when Josh didn't stop smiling, "I'm a loner who dislikes conversation."

Josh leaned back and pondered the situation. There was only one solution he could think of. One thing anyone in the twenty-first century couldn't live without, vampire or not. "What if I get your phone back from Elijah?"

Stefan didn't hesitate. "Deal."

*

"What are you doing?" Rebekah asked.

Klaus dropped a candle into a duffel bag. Giving him a dirty look, Freya shoved him aside. "You need to be careful with the supplies."

"It's a twenty dollar candle, sister," Klaus said, "rest assured by the fact that it's easily replaceable."

"Not the that," Freya said. She reached into the bag and took the candle out of it and pointed at its holder. "The thing holding it. It's made from ashes of our ancestors. Not replaceable. It's vital that I have it if I am to find out what's going on with your boyfriend."

Rebekah laughed. Freya turned to her with a confused expression. "They slept together." She turned to Klaus, who was frowning at Rebekah. "I'm clearly missing something. Enlighten me."

"It's nothing of any real concern," Klaus said.

"He was my boyfriend," Rebekah countered. "Klaus stole him from me."

"Didn't you ever learn to share?" Klaus said.

Rebekah stalked over to him. "Didn't you ever learn to ask for permission first?" 

"Enough," Freya said. She sounded eerily like Elijah. It made Rebekah and Klaus shut up. "Sister, do you still have feelings for Stefan?"

Rebekah started to say something nasty, but from the corner of her eyes, she caught the expression on her brother's face. It was like he was under a spell. She knew that feeling. "I've been over him for awhile."

"Then I see no problem here," Freya said. She walked over to Rebekah and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back soon. I'll text you the second I learn something." 

After she left, Klaus said, "I trust you'll help Elijah keep an eye on things."

"You can't be seriously leaving," Rebekah said. "It's going to be hard enough to convince Elena and Damon to leave Stefan under our protection as it is. If you're gone, it's going to look like you don't give a damn."

"Elijah will get Elena's cooperation," Klaus said as he gathered his coat. "And I'll rip out Damon's heart if he is responsible for as much as a hair on Stefan's body leaving this house."

She threw up her arms. "I'm sure Stefan will be glad to stay with us if you murder his brother."

"Don't be so dramatic," Klaus said without a hint of irony. He held up a piece of paper. "Cami knows a few doctors who may be of help to us. She was kind enough to give me their contact information."

"Are you mad?" Rebekah said, gawking at the loony tune who had clearly possessed her brother, "how can a human be of any possible use to us?"

"I'm simply covering my bases," Klaus said. Then he was gone.

*

Josh did not have to go far to find Elijah. He was walking up the stairs as soon as Josh closed the door to Stefan's room.

"Aren't you supposed to be watching over Stefan?" Elijah asked and gave Josh his grade A disapproving frown, which was rumored to have caused more than one vampire to die on the spot.

However, Elijah had nothing on Josh's Evangelical Christian homophobic control freak of a father, so he brushed it off. "I need Stefan's phone so that he'll dish about his relationship with Klaus."

Elijah strode down the stairs and stood in front of Josh. He took out Stefan's phone from his jacket pocket. Josh internally cheered. That was the easiest life-or-death task he'd ever taken. But then Elijah brushed past him.

"Wait!" Josh called and jogged over to Elijah. "Can't you at least tell me no?"

"That you've managed to survive so long is a credit to whatever strengths you possess," Elijah said, not sparing Josh a look. "But you are still young and inexperienced."

"What are you talking about?"

"Watch," Elijah said. Then he gave Josh a look that made him swallow. He put the phone in his jacket pocket and straightened up his jacket. He set a hand on Josh's shoulder as he said, "And." He smiled. _That_ nearly did kill Josh. "Learn."

*

When Elijah and Josh walked into the room, Stefan gave them one look before grabbing the edge of his bedding and pulling the covers over himself as he laid down. Elijah walked over to the bed and sat down on the chair next to it. Neither said a word.

So. 

Josh spoke, "We have your phone."

"I changed my mind," Stefan said. 

Josh was about to say something but Elijah shook his head. So Josh closed the door and leaned against it. He set a hand on the doorknob in case he needed to escape. You could never been too careful around original vampires and their various extended family or whatever half the people who surrounded them called themselves.

Elijah took the phone out of his jacket. "Elena has sent you several text messages."

"We're broken up," Stefan said, "so I don't care."

"Which is why about eighty percent of the pictures in your phone include her in some manner." Elijah set the phone down on the table and folded his arms. "If you're going to lie to me, I suggest you to try a little harder."

Stefan kicked off his covers and waited for Elijah to respond to such rude behavior. He didn't. So he sat up and put on his game face. "Don't you have better things to do than invade my privacy?"

"On the contrary," Elijah said, "you have suddenly become a top priority on my very short list of urgent concerns."

Stefan looked up at the ceiling. "I need to be drunk."

"Not while you're with my brother's child," Elijah said so blandly that Josh started to laugh.

At the looks the two men gave him, he held up his hands. "I'm sorry, but this is so super fucking weird, even for my life. Which, by the way, includes vampire megalomaniacs actively screwing over my life on a daily basis and my best friend, the Super Saiyan of witches, talking about boys with me."

Stefan stared at him. Then he turned to Elijah. "Where are you getting your minions these days?"

"He certainly wasn't _my_ choice," Elijah said and Josh would have stuck his tongue out at him if he didn't value his unlife as much as he did. "Before we continue this strand of our discussion, it would be remiss of me not to inform you that Elena and your brother will be here within two hours and I'm not opposed to them joining us in this conversation."

Stefan's lips quirked up a little. "Even Damon?"

"I will admit to preferring we don't resort to that option," Elijah said.

"If we can keep whatever I say between us, I'll talk," Stefan said after a moment of consideration.

"Agreed," Elijah said and waved a hand at Josh.

"I hope you don't expect me to have learned anything," Josh muttered under his breath.

"I would be more than happy to assign you an essay," Elijah said. 

Josh felt no shame when he used his vampire speed to get out of the room as fast as possible. Elijah would probably require an outline, the bastard. 

*

Elena napping is what set Damon off. He made a rough turn so that Elena was jolted out of her position. "Why are you so damn calm about all of this?"

Elena looked at him just long enough to shoot him a dirty look. She stretched out her sore muscles. She picked up her phone and began to do something on it.

"That's not an answer," Damon said. "Spill or I'll do something you regret."

"Because if I got angry, it would probably work you up into a murdering frenzy," Elena said. 

Damon pressed his lips together and shook his head. "I'm not buying it."

"Look," Elena said after taking a deep breath. "I don't want to think about everything I don't know." She looked out the window, way away from Damon. "I just want to focus on what we can do and not go crazy thinking about all the things that are beyond our control."

Damon looked straight ahead so he didn't have to watch her look away from him. He forced his tone to be light when he said, "You being so reasonable is making me look really bad."

"I'm sure your reputation will remain intact," Elena said. 

*

Stefan watched Elijah cross the room to the door and lock it. He watched him walk across again and pick up the bedding Stefan had kicked away. Watched as he straightened it out. Then he did something weird. _He tucked Stefan in._ While Stefan's brain broke, Elijah sat back down in the chair.

"I'd rather talk to Rebekah," Stefan said.

"No," Elijah said. Stefan must have given him particularly pitiful look so Elijah pointed out gently, "My sister is more likely to engage in bloody violence than I am."

"I happen to like bloody violence," Stefan said. 

"Not when you're humanity switch is turned on," Elijah said.

Stefan took a deep breath and counted to ten just like Caroline taught him. "I guess that's a good of place to start as any. How much do you actually know about me?"

"Rebekah and Niklaus have been both been disinclined to disclose many details about their relationships with you," Elijah said. "Hayley's impression of you is that you are," Elijah made a quote marks with his fingers, "probably in some sort of weird threesome with Damon and Elena."

Stefan wanted to say something to that but he had to admit that was a fair enough interpretation of the three of them from a distance.

"Elena has mentioned that you two have a complicated history but remains firm in her belief that you are, in the end, a compassionate person worth fighting for and with," Elijah said.

Stefan didn't miss a beat. "And what do you think?"

"You will do anything for the sake of the people you consider you family," Elijah said, "it's a trait I understand very well. Your relationship with Damon reminds me more than a little of the one that I share with Niklaus. However, you are more often than not, a threat to my family."

"Why not kill me?"

"I respect Elena," Elijah said, "Rebekah and Niklaus love you."

Stefan forced himself not to blink. "You didn't really answer my question."

"I suppose I didn't." Elijah leaned back in his chair. "If I knew what to think about you, we would be having a very different conversation."

Stefan knew it was in his best interest to make a good impression on Elijah so he pushed away the desire to tell him to fuck off. Time to channel Elena. "Rebekah was the first person I fell in love with." 

Elijah did not mention Katherine. Instead he said, "And Niklaus?"

"At first, he was just part of the package," Stefan said. "I knew I had to get on his good side if I wanted to stay with Rebekah."

"I assume that changed?" Elijah said.

"Everyone feared Klaus," Stefan said, "but when I first met him, I had nothing to lose so nothing scared me. His sadism and cruelty amused me so I enjoyed be around him. He intoxicated me and when I was with him. I never felt more free or more alive."

Elijah's face gave nothing away. "That doesn't explain why Niklaus grew to care about you."

"Klaus is easy to read," Stefan said. "He was bored, so I amused him. He was insecure, so I praised him. He wanted control, so I followed his lead. Whatever he wanted, I gave him."

"That was remarkably honest of you."

"I'm just confirming what you already suspect," Stefan said. 

Elijah was quiet. Then. "What happened next?"

"If Rebekah has decided not to tell you anything about us, I'm going to respect that," Stefan said.

"Why not afford the same respect to Niklaus?" Elijah said.

"The next time we met, I had everything to lose," Stefan said. He met Elijah's gaze. "Bit by bit, he took it all away from me."

"Do you want to elaborate?" Elijah said.

"Do you get some perverse enjoy from hearing his exploits?" Stefan snapped.

Elijah held up his hands. "I have witnessed and experienced Niklaus' destructive behavior for centuries and I take no joy in the harm he causes." He offered a small smile. "I'm simply offering to listen."

Stefan looked away. "When a summer of trying to turn me back into the person he used to know didn't work, he got into my head and forced me to become someone else." Stefan squeezed his fist, digging his nails into his skin. He focused on the pain blooming in his palms. "He made me feed on Elena."

Elijah studied him. When he started to say something, Stefan cut him off before he could speak.

"Later, it was easier to blame him than try and rebuild my life. I let him keep mattering to me." Stefan stared at his hands. "Even when I started to get past that, I've never been able to completely shake him."

"My brother has that effect on people," Elijah said, "he's also quite skilled at using that for his own means."

Stefan took a deep breath and turned away from his hands. He looked at the wall behind Elijah. "Damon has been suffocating me this summer. He doesn't like being reminded of the history I share with Klaus. So I decided to sleep with Klaus to piss him off."

"There are easier and less dangerous ways to annoy your brother," Elijah said so dryly that Stefan found himself laughing.

"So what's my verdict?" 

"You'll fit right in here," Elijah said.

 _Good enough start,_ Stefan thought.

"You should get some rest before Elena and Damon arrive," Elijah said as he stood up.

He left the phone on the night stand.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damon and Elena arrive in New Orleans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was a day late. I was sick yesterday.

Stefan waited until he could no longer hear Elijah's footsteps before grabbing his phone. Elena had called him multiple times and left him dozens of text messages. He ignored them and went to his contacts. He needed Caroline.

 _I slept with Klaus,_ he texted her.

Twenty minutes passed. _JFC. WHY CDN'T U WAIT TILL AFTER MY VAC W/MOM?_ Stefan waited. _10 DAYS. U CND'T WAIT 10 DAYS B4 FUCKING UP UR LIFE._ He bit his lip to keep from grinning. _DO U MAKE MY LIFE HARD ON PURPOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????_

Stefan bit back a smile before typing, _Next time I'll be sure to check your schedule before having a deeply painful and personal crisis._

Caroline responded right away with, _GOOD!1. IM 2 MAD @ U RITE NOW. G ME A FEW HRS._

_I look forward to proper grammar and correct spelling. Rage brings out your worst qualities._

After a moment in which Stefan assumed she was laughing in spite of herself, she responded with, _Shut up._

_You're already calming down._

_You are walking on thin ice, Salvatore._

*

Rebekah handed Elijah a mug of tea and sat down at the table across from him. "Where is Niklaus?"

Rebekah snorted before taking a sip of her own tea. "Harassing the entire medical community."

"Freya?"

"She's looking at a lead that might explain how this is even possible."

"Hayley and Hope?"

"With Marcel."

Elijah stared at his tea. Rebekah sighed, walked across the kitchen, opened up a cabinet and grabbed the jar of sugar. She walked over to her brother and opened the jar. Then she began to pour it in her own mug until the tea overflew and began to drip onto table. Elijah looked at her as if she'd thrown away her entire wardrobe and replaced it from stuff from Kmart. 

"Now that I have your attention," Rebekah said, not able to hide her grin at Elijah's betrayed expression, "do you care to tell me what you learned from Stefan?"

"It's slightly more complicated than I anticipated," Elijah said.

"Are you worried?" Rebekah asked.

"There are several upsides that I had not previously considered," Elijah said without elaborating. Rebekah was curious but decided not to push. Elijah would fill her in if his hunch was right. "We may just get through this with minimal bloodshed."

Rebekah held up her mug, still overflowing, and said, "Cheers." 

Elijah took out a handkerchief and began to clean up the mess. "Do you need a lesson on manners, little sister? I'm more than happy to teach you."

"That depends," Rebekah said, "will I have to attend the same lessons as Damon?"

"Of course not," Elijah said absently, "I grade on a curve - I would never give Damon such leniency."

*

After a little over twelve hours driving while ignoring speed limits, Damon and Elena finally entered New Orleans.

"We should go about this in a calm and rational manner," she said. 

"I'm sure I can manage that," he said.

The glint in his eyes told Elena he was lying. She wished it bothered her more. 

*

Stefan was awakened by his phone ringing. The time indicated he's only been asleep for about twenty minutes and he felt more tired than he'd been when he started his nap. He wanted to go back to sleep. But it was Caroline. "That was a short few hours."

"I was too wired to relax," Caroline said, "so my mom said to take care of my girl troubles." 

"Girl troubles?" Stefan couldn't help but ask.

"I can't stop pacing when Elena or Bonnie need my friendship," Caroline said. "My mom knows most of my tics."

"I'm not sure how I feel about me being one of your girlfriend problems," Stefan said.

"You slept with Klaus," Caroline said, "sleeping with asshole men is basically the definition of girlfriend problems."

"Point taken."

"There is only one solution to this," Caroline said, "and that is to dish to your best girl."

Stefan remembered Caroline talking to him about sleeping with Klaus all those months ago. “When did I become your best girl?”

"Why are boys so sensitive?" Caroline complained. "Just get over it and focus on the actual problem at hand, okay?"

Stefan looked down at his stomach and promptly decided that he wasn't ready to touch that. "Damon has decided that this would be the summer of brotherly bonding."

"Ewww!" A beat. "Wait, don't you like spending time with your brother?"

"Sometimes," Stefan said, "but Damon doesn't want to deal with breaking up with Elena, so he's decided to focus on me instead."

"Your brother needs a hobby that's not being a creepy possessive asshole to you two," Caroline bitched. "So what happened?"

"After he told me to cut back on hanging out with Elena - "

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Unfortunately," Stefan said. There were a few minor details he was leaving out. He just didn't want Caroline to get so worked that she'd drop everything and head back to the States. He didn't actually want his brother dead, after all. "So, I drugged him and went off to sleep with Klaus to piss him off."

"You should have just given away his Persian rugs," Caroline said.

That wouldn't have sent the message Stefan wanted. "He hates Klaus more than he loves his rugs."

"We need to set up a buddy system. Like, the second either of us thinks that interacting with Klaus for any reason is a good idea we should call the other instantly."

Stefan's response died in his throat when he heard the engine in Damon's car. "I'm sorry, but I have to go."

"But we haven't even gotten the ice cream yet!"

"I'm leaving my entire estate to you," Stefan said.

"What's going on?" Caroline asked sharply.

"Damon's here," Stefan said and cut off his phone before she could reply. He turned off his phone and hid it under his pillow just as the front door was yanked off its handle.

*

"Did you have to go for property damage this soon?" Elena asked as Damon stormed through the Mikaelson house. Mansion. Estate. Compound. Elena wasn't sure what to call it. "What about our plan to be calm and rational and not escalate the situation?"

"That was your plan," Damon said, spotting Rebekah and Elijah in the dining room, "and it was a stupid one so I nixed it." 

She sighed and followed him.

"Good evening, Elena," Elijah said as he got up and held out a chair for her.

Elena really liked his decorum so she sat down. "It's good to see you again, Elijah."

"The pleasure is all mine, Elena," Elijah said. 

"Where are you hiding my brother?" Damon paced around the dining room like a tiger in a cage. 

"We haven't stashed your brother in a secret entrance behind the china," Rebekah said. She scowled at Elijah as he poured Elena some tea. She respected Elijah's dedication to diplomacy, but she wished he drew the line at being _nice_ to doppelgangers. "Will you please calm down so we can discuss this like adults?"

Damon slapped his hands on the table and leaned into Rebekah's face. "You kidnapped my brother. Discussion is off the table."

"I suggest you step away from my sister," Elijah said. How he could look so murderous while holding an antique tea pot decorated with delicate flowers was anyone's guess.

"Give me back **my** brother first," Damon said.

Rebekah shoved him away. "I'll have you know we didn't kidnap your brother. He came to Klaus willingly."

Elena folded her arms and gave Elijah a deeply unimpressed look. 

"There is no denying what's happening here is illegal," Elijah said. "However, I think it pointless to pretend law has any practical meaning in this situation."

"I suppose that's fair," Elena said, "but I hope you don't think we're just going to let you keep Stefan around indefinitely."

"Of course not," Elijah assured her, "I have full confidence that we can come up with a solution we can all find agreeable." He gave Damon a long look before adding, "Well, most of us."

Elena studied Rebekah for a long moment. Then she picked up her mug and took a sip of the tea before meeting Elijah's gaze head on. "I assume you're going to offer us a deal. I'm all ears."

Before Elijah or Rebekah could respond, Damon threw up his arms. "Elena, go ahead and have a nice _conversation_ with our mortal enemies if you want. I am going to search every inch of this place until I find Stefan."

"You're paying for any property damage!" Rebekah called out to his retreating form.

"Send the bill to my lawyer."

"One," Elena said, holding up her index finger. Rebekah and Elijah turned to look at her. "Two." There was a loud crash. "Three." Damon let out a string of curse words in several different languages. "Bingo." 

*

"Hello, brother," Stefan said after Damon picked himself off the ground.

"What the hell was that?" Damon said.

"You didn't think it'd be that easy, did you?" Elena asked as she walked up the stairs, Rebekah and Elijah at her heals.

"I was feeling optimistic," Damon said. He kicked a nearby vase and took deep satisfaction in how it cracked to pieces.

"I hope you don't think that we're going to keep letting you destroy our home without retaliation," Elijah said. 

Damon punched the invisible wall in front of Stefan's room in response. 

"Klaus had a witch put up a seal so the only people who can pass through it are the people of his choosing," Rebekah said helpfully.

Elena lifted her hand to tap at the invisible wall only to find her hand went right through it. She turned around to look at Elijah, who gave her a nod. She walked into the room and over to Stefan. She took hold of his face in the palms of her hands and looked him over.

Damon jerked around to face Mikaelson siblings. "Why can Elena get in?"

"I imagine it was Niklaus' intention to cause you frustration," Elijah said. 

"And Stefan and Elena do tend to bring out his romantic side," Rebekah said, to which Elijah nodded. 

Damon covered up his cringe by stalking over to Rebekah and Elijah. It would probably would have been frightening if they weren't already used to such posturing by Klaus, who had way more practice the whole dangerous vampire shtick than Damon. "Where the hell is your soon to be dead brother, anyway?"

"Not telling," Rebekah said and turned around and began walking back down the stairs.

"You _have_ been threatening to kill him," Elijah said at Damon's twitching face before following his sister.

"It's not a threat," Damon said, going after them, "it's a personal vow I intend to keep."

Done looking him over, Elena looked down at Stefan with a smile and said, "Hey."

"Hey."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damon recruits Bonnie into his quest for vengeance.

Elena looked at the chains binding Stefan to the bed. "I'm guessing I can't just rip them off."

"Nope," Stefan said, "only Klaus can unlock them."

"I'll work on that," Elena said. Then she indulged in some mild sadism by asking in a way that made the hair on Stefan's arm stand up. "I get that Damon was being a dick. What I don't get is what made you think that jumping from one controlling creep to another was a good idea?"

"I'm not going to claim it was one of my better plans," Stefan said.

Elena folded her arms and stared him down.

"Don't you think it's a little unfair to interrogate me while I'm chained up to a bed and not likely to see the light of day for nine months?" Stefan asked.

Elena continued to stare him down so Stefan sighed and moved over so that Elena could sit down next to him.

"I was trying to make a point," Stefan said.

"The point being that you get to pick which controlling dick to spend time with?" Elena asked.

"Damon brings out my irrational side," Stefan said. 

Elena laughed and dropped her forehead on his shoulder. "Anyone who has spent any length of time with Damon knows that's a perfectly reasonable defense."

"Does that mean you'll agree to be my lawyer in the court of Damon?" Stefan asked.

Elena settled so that she was lying her head on his chest and yawned. "Just give me a good night's sleep." She peered at him from under her eyelashes. "And don't think you're going to get out of telling me the whole story."

"There's nothing else to say," Stefan said.

Elena rolled her eyes before settling more comfortably in his arms. 

*

After Elena breathing evened out, Stefan turned on his phone and dialed Caroline's number. It didn't even finish it first ring before Caroline answered with, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Stefan said, "Damon's more focused on finding Klaus than me."

Caroline let out a sigh of relief. Then she started to yell. "Do you have any how worried I've been? And completely helpless because my mother stole my credit cards so I couldn't book a flight. I can't compel a web site to get me a plane ticket. Want to know why I know this? Because I tried! And after that failed, I started to really worry. My mom then got me my own hotel room and told me not to bother her until I heard from you again. I can't even blame her because I was a complete terror. I'm _always_ a complete terror when I'm worried about a friend with no way to help. You know all of this! What made you think turning off your phone was a good idea?"

While Caroline took a breath, Stefan asked, "Are you done?"

"Don't make light of this," Caroline snapped, "I was seriously worried about you!"

"I know," Stefan said, "but it's been an exhausting day and hearing you being you is really comforting."

"Why do you have to be so you?" Caroline said and that made Stefan smile. "It makes it really hard to stay mad at you."

"Sorry," Stefan said without apology. 

"Good," Caroline said. "Now that I'm calmed down, I can get my credit cards back. I should be back home with my mom by tomorrow night."

"No," Stefan said, sharply. "You need to spend time with you mother."

"My mom is worried about you too," Caroline said, "and we can spend time together while being there for you."

Stefan shook his head even though Caroline couldn't see him. "Elena's with me right now. Damon will probably get most of his rage out with Klaus. Things are going to calm down soon. Right now, you need to be with your mother."

"Stefan," Caroline started.

"We have forever," Stefan said firmly, "you mom doesn't."

Caroline sighed. "You have to promise to call me every day."

"I will," Stefan said. "Now go spend time with you mom while you're relatively sane."

"Don't joke," Caroline said, "I plan to hold you to this promise."

"I know," Stefan said and waited until he could hear Caroline smiling before adding, "and I'm grateful."

"Good," Caroline said and they both hung up.

"You are a lying lair," Elena said after a moment.

"Says the one who pretended to be asleep in order to listen in on a private conversation," Stefan said. "Are you going to tell her what's really going on?"

"No," Elena said. "The last thing we need is Caroline in New Orleans. Things are complicated enough as it is."

There was a cruelty in Elena's logic. It was also true. Stefan felt himself relaxing for the first time since Elijah had informed him a child was growing inside of him. 

*

"This better be good," Bonnie said.

Cranky. Damon must have woken her up. Not an ideal situation but he could work with it. "I need you help carrying out some violent vengeance against our least favorite hybrid."

"I'm listening."

"There is just a slight kink in my plan," Damon said, ignoring the speeding limit sign he just drove past, "I can't seem to find Klaus."

Bonnie yawned. "We've been Klaus free for almost a year. I'm going to need to have a really good reason before I agree to help you bring him back into our lives."

"He did unspeakable things to my baby brother," Damon said darkly, "deadly violence is the only reasonable course of action for me to take."

"Stefan's hurt?" Finally alert, she began to move. From the sound of said movements, he assumed she was getting dressed. "Why are you just telling me now?"

"I figured you'd be more interested in righteous retribution," Damon said. A police officer spotted him.

"You have known me for how many years?" Bonnie said. "And you think I'd care more about that over the fact one of my friends is hurt?"

"In my defense, I wasn't sure you considered him a friend," Damon said, trying to cut the officer off. 

"Why do I always forget you are a self-absorbed psychotic dick with no sense of human decency?"

"Beats the hell out of me," Damon said decided it would take too much time to try and avoid the police. Let them come at him. "So are you in?"

"Yeah," Bonnie said. Damon smiled as he drove through a construction sight as the property destruction soothed him. "Is that a siren?"

"I'll fill you in later," Damon said and hung up.

*

"Exactly how many favors did you have to call?" Rebekah asked.

"Too many to count," Elijah said and set his phone down on the table. Elena handed him a mug of tea. "Is there any way you can prevent Damon from pulling another stunt that ends up involving the federal government?"

"I can't even get him to answer the phone," Elena said, dropping down in the seat across from him. She'd been away from her home with Bonnie for two days and she wanted cocoa puffs to comfort herself with, but the Originals only had organic and healthy food in their house. Stefan had spent most of his time sleeping since she'd arrived at the Mikaelson Compound, so she couldn't get comfort from him either. 

"Perhaps if you offered to sleep with him again," Rebekah said. At the look Elijah gave her, she threw up her arms and stalked across the kitchen. "It's not like I'm hearing you come up with any better ideas."

"It's not even a good plan," Elena huffed, "nothing will stop Damon from being Damon."

Elijah closed his eyes and rubbed them. "Let's put Damon off the table for the moment."

"Brilliant," Rebekah said and rejoined the two of them at the table. 

"Aren't you two a little worried about what he might do to Klaus?" Elena asked. 

"I hate to admit it," Rebekah said, "but Damon has proven to be a threat before."

"I am aware," Elijah said. "However, I doubt Damon will find a way to actually kill Niklaus and will be forced to settle with causing him some temporary discomfort, which has the possibility of teaching him to think before taking advantage of someone who is vulnerable." 

Elena stared at Elijah. Then she turned to stare at Rebekah, who was looking at her brother like he'd grown another head.

"I'm an elder brother as well," Elijah said, refusing to meet either women in the eye, "and I'm finding it difficult not to imagine Rebekah in Stefan's place."

There was a long pause before Rebekah spoke, "I don't know if I'm offended or touched."

*

"Can you please stop pacing?" Bonnie said later that evening, "it's making it really hard for me to concentrate."

Damon paced across the living room even faster than before. "All you have to do is think about ways you'd like to cause Klaus pain and chant a few words over a blade."

"You're making it impossible for me to think!" Bonnie said, wrapping her hand around the handle of the dagger and pointed it at Damon. "And the only person I want to hurt right now is you!"

"Fine," Damon snapped and threw himself onto the couch. 

Bonnie chanted and the dagger began to float. She lifted up her hands and fire flew from her fingertips and began to dance around the weapon. Damon sat up and leaned forward, his eyes glued to the sight.

"It's done," Bonnie said, sounding sleepy, as the dagger floated into Damon's waiting hand. "Now can you tell me what's going on with Stefan?"

Damon cradled the dagger against his chest like a priest would his bible. "Don't worry." Bonnie looked like she was going to drop him with a witchy look so he set his hands on her shoulders and gave them a comforting squeeze. "Like I said, Elena's with him. She'll keep him safe."

Bonnie gritted her teeth. "Where is my best friend and her better boyfriend?"

"They're both okay," Damon said, standing up, "I'll call you when the deed is done."

And then something horrifying occurred to Bonnie. "Are you trying to protect me?"

"You are paranoid and delusional," Damon said as he sheathed his precious dagger, "you're just easier to find and use if you stay ignorant and in Mystic Falls."

"Oh god," Bonnie said and nearly fainted, "I should have realized when you didn't automatically try to drag me across the country when I located Klaus. You didn't steal my phone so I couldn't call Elena or Caroline to be a dick. You were trying to keep me as out of this as possible while still using me. You are a psychopath and you want to protect me."

"Delusional," Damon repeated, dropping said phone into Bonnie's lap, "paranoid, and sad."

Bonnie didn't respond as it appeared her brain and stopped functioning, a side affect of her entire world view being permanently altered.

Damon was grateful. Made it easier for him to make his leave. He pulled out his phone and absently sent a message to Matt to check up on her after his shift before hitting the road, torture on his mind.

*

It took a few hours, but when Bonnie was able to function, she grabbed her phone and called Elena. "Please tell me that Klaus didn't kill Stefan."

"He's alive," Elena said, "what made you think he was in danger?"

"Damon asked for my help," Bonnie said, "but he refused to actually give me details. Then he ditched me after using me. Jackass. I don't even want to think about him." Whatever motives Damon may have, Bonnie knew better than to think they were anything but dangerous. She'd seen first hand what Damon's idea of love and protection looked like. "Can you just tell me what's going on?"

"You should sit down while I get Stefan on speaker phone," Elena said.

"Is this your idea of comforting me?" Bonnie asked, "because it's really not working."

"It's just really complicated," Elena said, "and Stefan should be the one to tell you."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damon and Klaus meet, which naturally ends up ruining Elijah's nice afternoon with Marcel, Hayley, and Hope.

It only took Damon a few hours to get to the five-star hotel Klaus was staying at. He was in the presidential suit and sitting at the table with a dead man resting on its surface. A doctor, Damon assumed, from the lab coat he was wearing.

"Damon," Klaus said, lifting his head up. He wiped off the blood on the corners of his mouth with his thumb and wiped it off on the doctor's lap coat. "I assume you're here on Stefan's behalf?"

"That's one way of putting it," Damon said and stalked over to Klaus. Oh, sure, he could have rushed over to him and stabbed him. But Damon wanted to enjoy himself. When it came to torturing someone who had wronged him, he preferred to take his time and savor in the ecstasy that it brought.

Klaus didn't look impressed or threatened, which suited Damon just fine. Being underestimated would make his revenge all that much sweeter. When he arrived at the table, he shoved it aside, breaking it, Klaus' food landing somewhere between the broken pieces of wood. His body sung with joy when he slammed the dagger into Klaus' chest and _twisted._

Klaus screamed and choked on his own blood for a some of the best moments of Damon's life before he was able to summon enough strength to shove Damon away. He tore out the dagger and threw it across the room before falling to his hands and knees. 

Damon took his chance and kicked him in the chest, knocking him over on his back. He set his foot on Klaus' throat and leaned down. "I hope you have some appointments scheduled," he pressed the heel of his shoe into Klaus neck to cut off his air supply. "I really want to be the reason you missed them. I know how you like to make a good impression."

Klaus grabbed Damon's leg and threw him to the ground. He stood up, wiping the blood off his face with his arm. "You seem to be mistaking me up with the ever-punctual Elijah." He walked over to where the dagger was and picked it up. "I like to be fashionably late." He threw the dagger at Damon, where it landed in his shoulder.

Damon pulled it out and laughed. "This thing only has the power to torture you."

"That's fine with me," Klaus said, holding out his arms. "I much prefer that the instruments of torture that I use to be of my own design."

Damon tightened his hold on the dagger and waited for Klaus. The attack never came. Instead, walked back over to his chair and sat back down. 

"Either your plan of attack is really good or really stupid," Damon said after a moment.

"I've allowed you some violence against my person," Klaus said. "I am not entirely unsympathetic to your position."

"How very gracious of you," Damon said. Weapon in hand, he moved with a blur.

Klaus grabbed the dagger before Damon could use it again. "In exchange for my sacrifice, I expect you to engage in civilized discourse." He took the dagger from Damon. "I trust you can see the benefits of a cordial relationship between the two of us, now that we are kin, of sorts."

"You lost me at cordial," Damon said. He refused to touch the bit about kin on principle. 

"I see your point," Klaus said after a moment of thinking. "Perhaps we can settle with non-lethal mutual hatred?"

"I'm really attached to the lethal part of our mutual hatred," Damon said, "so I'm going to have to decline that offer."

Klaus looked put upon when he suggested, "How about we discuss some terms over a meal?" Damon looked like he'd rather drink vervain. Klaus held up the dagger and slid his finger across the blade. "I suppose I could indulge in some curiosity on my part and see if it's capable of killing you."

"Fine," Damon said through gritted teeth. 

*

Early the next day, Damon and Klaus arrived back at the Mikaelson estate. Their first stop was Rebekah's room. She was resting on her bed while she read a magazine and sipped some wine. 

"We," Klaus declared, pointing at Damon than himself, "are going to have a nice long talk with Stefan."

"Alone," Damon added.

Rebekah took a sip of said wine. "Why are you telling me this?"

"You, love, will make sure that no one interrupts us," Klaus said and Rebekah imagined pouring her drink on his head. She didn't. It was _vintage._

"If I decline to be your personal bodyguard without notice?" Rebekah asked. "Perhaps I had plans."

Klaus laughed and Rebekah pushed her drink aside. It would be impossible to enjoy it now. Scowling, she followed the two men out of her room.

*

While Rebekah stood guard, Klaus opened the door to Stefan's room. "I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm allowing your big brother in here, Stefan." 

"I'd rather you didn't," Stefan muttered, giving his brother a wary look. 

Damon took exactly one step into the guest room. "What you want doesn't matter." Damon said. His face was dark and his eyes were darker. 

Elena, who had been lying in bed next to Stefan, stood up. She placed herself so that she was right in front of where Stefan was lying. She took a stance that Ric had taught her, fangs dropping. Klaus wasted no time in rushing over to her and snapping her neck. 

"That wasn't part of the plan!" Damon said as he rushed over to Elena, kneeling down beside her. He brushed the hair off her face and glared up at Klaus. 

"It's hardly my fault the lot of you guzzle down vervain so I couldn't compel her to leave," Klaus said. "Stefan and Elijah both would have been miffed with me if I'd killed her. Forgive me for not seeing an alternative of option."

"The idea of asking her to leave didn't cross your mind?" Damon asked while he gathered Elena into his arms.

Klaus was stunned. "When did you develop such a poor grasp of Elena's basic character?" 

"Do you have anything to say about this?" Damon asked Stefan.

"I'm wondering the same thing," Stefan admitted. At Damon's glare, he held up his arms in a gesture of peace. "I'm not exactly happy with Klaus, but it was hardly unexpected." 

Klaus glanced over at Stefan. "Is there something you wish to share with the audience?"

"Elena and I discussed the possibility," Stefan said. "Damon, do you mind taking her somewhere else? I'd rather her not overhear what's about to happen when she wakes up."

"And she agreed to that?" Damon asked.

"Of course not," Stefan said. "Do you want her here?"

It took about twenty seconds for Damon to rush out, put Elena in one of the bedrooms, and come back. "You, little brother," Damon said, pointing at Stefan, "are going to be the one to deal with her when she comes to."

"As delightfully amusing your domestic squabbles are," Klaus said, walking over to stand by Damon, "I believe we have more important things to discuss at the moment."

Stefan was suddenly aware he was alone and without any protection.

"After a very long and moderately violent conversation, your brother and I have agreed to abandon lethal options to any problem that may arise between us for the time being."

Stefan was immediately suspicious. "How did that happen?"

"You," Damon said.

Stefan shot him a confused look. 

Klaus was more than happy to explain. "After informing me of your exploits over the past two years, Damon and I found ourselves in the rare situation of complete agreement."

Stefan did not like where this conversation was going.

"You have developed an unfortunate habit of being kidnapped, tortured, blackmailed, and otherwise harmed by forces that means you no good," Klaus said.

"You do remember him blackmailing and torturing me, right?" Stefan asked Damon, terror beginning to creep into his voice.

"It was only after Klaus that it became a very frequent pattern," Damon said with a rare air of reasonability.

Stefan was speechless.

That suited Klaus just fine. "After discussing our options, we have decided the best course of action is to put you under house arrest for an indefinite amount of time." Klaus tilted his head to Damon. "And we have decided to combine our mutual resources to make sure you follow this decree."

"You actually plan to keep me chained up for nine months?" Stefan asked, feeling faint. 

"Of course not," Klaus said. "That would be detrimental to the health of our child."

Stefan opened his mouth. No words came out.

"When you have proven, to my satisfaction, that you will obey us in this," Klaus said as walked over to Stefan's bed to pat the chains, "I will be more than happy to unlock these."

Stefan turned to his big brother. "What happened to you _not_ wanting me to be chained up?"

"Extreme measures are called for, brother," Damon said.

Stefan decided, right then and there, to never have sex again. Ever.

*

Elijah answered his phone on the second ring. “Elena.” 

He had been spending an enjoyable evening with Marcel, Hayley, and Hope. Marcel’s rendition of Mozart on the piano had Hope enthralled. She was sitting on Elijah’s lap and would suck on harder than normal her pacifier when the tempo picked up and look up at her uncle with a smile when the music became cheerful. Even as a toddler, her taste was impeccable, and Elijah couldn’t be prouder.

Rebekah and Elena had assured him that they could hold down the fort after Hayley had invited him over for a late lunch with Hope and Marcel. Elena’s call had signaled that his pleasant afternoon was about to turn sour. 

"Your psychotic brother has put Stefan under house arrest," Elena said.

Elijah looked down at his niece and gave her a longing look. 

"Her psychotic ex-boyfriend was also involved," Rebekah added. From the volume and tone of her voice, Elijah assumed she grabbed the phone right from out of Elena's hand and was now using it herself. 

"I was getting there," Elena not so much as said as _snarled_. He could hear her stalking back and forth, an enraged monster without a kill in sight. "Normally, I can handle Damon and Rebekah can handle Klaus but they are working together." She paused. "And I think they might be becoming _friends._ "

"Elena and I are not friends," Rebekah added, sounding a slightly more nasty than Elijah thought was strictly necessary. "I hope you can see where we're at a disadvantage here."

Elijah set a hand on one of Hope's small shoulders as he thought. Marcel stopped playing, turned around, and met his gaze. It gave Elijah an idea. He started to smile as he said, "Give me twenty minutes."

"Want me to come with you?" Hayley asked after Elijah hung up.

"As much as I would appreciate your company in this endeavor," Elijah said as he walked over to her and hand over Hope, who had started to pout now that the music was gone. "I'm going to need your specific help within the next few hours and its of utmost importance that you remain here."

"Then let me come with you," Marcel said. He stood up and walked over to Elijah, grinning all the while. "Anyone who manages to befriend Klaus is someone I have to meet."

"As entertaining as I imagine you'd find Damon," Elijah said and Hayley snorted, "I have another task for you."

"I'm not happy about you playing boss," Marcel said, "but I have to admit that I am interested in where you're going with this."

"I’m going to need you to take someone for me."


	5. Chapter 5

Damon and Klaus were sitting next to each other on the couch while Elijah stood in front of them. Rebekah was standing at his left and Elena at his right. They were wearing identical scowls and folding their arms. If the situation hadn’t been so serious, Elijah may have teased his sister. For all she professed to loathe Elena, they often seemed to mirror one another.

But the situation was serious, so Elijah was not in a position to attempt to build a more productive and positive relationship between his little sister and favorite doppelganger. 

"Your plan," Elijah told them, giving Klaus a look that would have made more intelligent people flinch, "is ridiculous and unethical to an absurd degree."

"I beg to differ," Klaus said as he leaned back and shot Damon a grin, "keeping Stefan confined is among one of my more brilliant plans. Having him here at all times will make it easier to keep him safe. Stefan's unfortunate habit of running away simply means that we'll have to do it against his will."

"And the idea that ethics would move either one of us is the only absurd thing around here," Damon added. He did flinch, albeit slightly, when Elijah turned the force of his glare onto him.

"What of the pain this is causing your brother?" Elijah asked.

Elena snorted and Damon manfully pretended he didn’t hear her. 

"I did once promise him an eternity of misery," Damon said. He set his feet on the end table. "I'm sure you, of all people, can see the honor in keeping a promise."

"The honorable thing to do," Elijah said in between Klaus' roaring laughter, "would be to treat Stefan with the respect and care he is due from you, as his elder brother."

"Have you met Damon?" Rebekah interjected as she shoved Damon’s feet off the table, much more gently than Elena thought he deserved. "The idea that he would ever respect anything or anyone is beyond the realm of possibility."

"No," Elena said with a dark quality that had Damon giving her look one could classify as ‘interested’. "Damon has proven to be fully capable of doing the right thing. He's simply choosing not to. It makes this - him - even worse."

"Now, now," Klaus said, sounding more than a little offended, "there's no need to give Damon _all_ the credit here."

Elijah turned to his brother in order give him a look that dimmed his smile. "Niklaus. You and I will be speaking privately about this in the very near future."

"Rest assured that I'm counting down the minutes to that delightful moment," Klaus said. Elijah was pleased to note that he no longer sounded amused.

Elijah pointed at his brother. "I am giving you one chance to put an end to this."

Klaus stood up and faced Elijah. "If I don't?"

"I will take matters into my own hand," Elijah said.

"I'd like to see you try," Klaus said.

"Then you'll be pleased to know that I already have," Elijah said.

*

Stefan attributed his initial lack of reaction to two strangers, a black man who could only be described as lovely and a teenage girl who reminded him of Elena for reasons he couldn’t quite pin down, breaking into his room to being in a state of shock. 

"I'm guessing you're Stefan," the man said. Stefan nodded. "Good. I'm Marcel." He pointed at the girl. "This is Davina." He gave Stefan a charming smile. "We’ve been tasked with breaking you out."

"That's probably kind of you," Stefan said. "But I don't think it would be a good idea for me to leave right now."

"I hear you," Marcel said, "believe me when I say I know how dangerous pissing Klaus off can be. But Elijah's not going to take no for an answer."

"And Elijah's moderately better than Klaus," Davina added, "so I'd take this if I were you."

Marcel looked at her. "Do you think you can handle these chains?” 

She rolled her eyes. "As if any witch who works for Klaus could challenge me." She set her hands above the chains binding Stefan and closed her eyes. She muttered a few words and they came undone. She turned around to give Marcel a cocky grin. "See?"

Marcel bowed. "Never let me doubt your strength again, D."

"I'm going to hold you to that," she told him. 

"Thank you," Stefan said as he pulled his knees up to rub his ankles. They were sore after three days of being bound.

"You don't have to worry about anyone overhearing us," Marcel said, starting to feel concerned by Stefan's lack of reaction. 

"The sage," Stefan said, nodding at the smoke coming from the plant he was holding. He yawned and struggled to keep his eyes open. "It's part of a spell that makes the room sound proof."

Marcel gave Davina a smug smile. "I knew Klaus wouldn't knock up someone stupid. You owe me ten bucks."

Glaring at Marcel, Davina waved her hand, making the chains fly across the room. "He's friends with Klaus,” she twisted her wrist and the chains went up in flames, “which is pretty much the definition of stupid!”

That broke Stefan out of his stupor. "I'm not friends with Klaus!"

"So that makes you another one of his victims," Davina said darkly. The flames turned black and began to grow.

"Don't start on that," Marcel said. She looked at him like he’d just suggested that she jump into acid naked. "Look, I'm not disagreeing with you. But we don't have a lot of time. Do you want to save this kid or not?" He grabbed her arms and turned her around so that she was facing the black flames. 

As if Marcel had just told her to watch her mouth, she rolled her eyes. Then she put out the flames with another wave of her hand. She turned to Stefan and asked, "Got everything?"

“Your last name isn’t Sommers or Gilbert by any chance?” Stefan asked her as he got off the bed and pocketed his phone. 

“It’s Claire,” Davina said. “Why?”

“You just remind me of someone,” Stefan said.

“And you can tell us all about it later,” Marcel said, “but Elijah’s only going to be able to distract Klaus for so long.”

“I’ve been ready to leave since we got here,” Davina said. She grabbed Stefan’s hand and then Marcel’s. She closed her eyes and began to mutter in a language that sounded similar to the one Bonnie used when she practiced witchcraft. 

A minute later, the three of them were gone.

*

While Klaus and Damon confirmed that Stefan was nowhere in the house, Elena grabbed Elijah's wrist and pulled him into the kitchen. "What did you do with Stefan?"

Elijah didn't break her hold. He looked down at her. "He's safe."

Elena's eyes began to flicker red. She pushed him, followed when he took a step back, "Where. Is. He?"

"Elena," Elijah said. He set a hand on her shoulder and waited. Frustrated but knowing what he wanted, Elena forced her vampirism down. "I promise you, Stefan is in no danger."

Elena grabbed his shoulder and dug her nails into him. His blood stained both of their clothes. She jerked him down so that they were eye to eye. "Take me to him."

"If I do that, Niklaus and Damon will follow," Elijah said.

"I don't care!" 

Elijah broke away from her. He took hold of her face with both of his hands. "Elena, listen to me. Stefan's safety is, at the moment, my highest priority."

Elena tried to break away from him. Even with her emotions fueling her powers, she wasn't nearly strong enough to do so. He let her get in a few attacks, but that was it. She let out a frustrated sound and tried to push away. She was helpless. "Since when do you give a damn about Stefan?"

"Since he started carrying what will be the newest member of my family," Elijah said. The drained from her body. "Elena, have you processed the fact that, however impossible, Stefan is carrying a child? A child that he created with my brother."

Elijah allowed Elena to slip away from his grasp.

"I am not sure anyone has ever understood the devotion I have to my family and ways in which I will fight for them as well as you," Elijah said. "I know, even now, you are looking for loopholes in my words. Rest assured: there are none."

"I can accept that you want to protect Stefan," Elena said after she took a moment to find a loophole and failed, "but you only feel that way because of something Stefan is carrying not because of Stefan himself." She took a step to him and looked up at him. "Stefan is _my_ family, Elijah. Thanks to yours, I don't have much of that left."

"I know," Elijah said. "That's one of the reasons I am determined to protect Stefan." For a moment, he had to look away from her. "I owe you a great deal, Elena. I would rather do what I can to make things up to you as opposed letting you down again." 

Elena's eyes widened. She quickly tried to hide it by schooling her face into a neutral expression but Elijah saw it nonetheless. It was how he knew he'd won this particular battle.

From the way that she lifted her head and held his gaze, he knew she didn't consider it a defeat. "How long?"

"I will need no longer than a week," Elijah said. "Do not track him or call him - it would jeopardize his safety, making this all for naught."

"Fine," Elena said. She turned around and began to walk away. "One week. Any longer than that and I'll find Stefan myself. And you won't ever see him or his child again."

*

Stefan was not expecting the baby.

Elijah orchestrating his escape from Klaus and Damon was a little weird, but not particularly shocking considering the fact that the Original siblings regularly used everyone around them in their power plays against one another. His new prison being a shabby old cabin in the middle of nowhere was an odd choice considering how much the Originals liked to flaunt their stolen wealth, but Stefan figured Elijah simply didn't have enough time to store him away in a properly hidden mansion. 

So it was the baby that got to him.

"Do you want to hold her?" The woman Stefan vaguely remembered as Hayley asked. They were sitting on a couch together and she was holding out the infant to his general direction.

Stefan stared at Hayley.

"She doesn't bite," Hayley said. "Well, sometimes. But only because she's teething."

"Klaus had a baby with you," Stefan said. Then he started to stare at the baby. "A baby girl. A baby girl that he named Hope." 

"Yeah, I know it's weird," Hayley said, "but I really need you fast forward through your shock."

Stefan kept staring at the baby.

Hayley sighed. "I know exactly how impossible this is to process but right now you've got a brand new Mikaelson growing inside you and that means that you're going to be targeted by about a million or so dangerous supernatural creatures who they've pissed off over the last thousand years."

"That's nothing new for me," Stefan said. He remembered Silas and shoved down the panic he always felt when he thought of his doppelganger. 

"The part where you're carrying a baby _is_ ," Hayley said. "And I'm probably the only person in the world who can help you come to terms with that."

Stefan looked down at his stomach and pressed the palm of his hand against it. "I guess that's why Elijah picked you to be my newest baby-sitter."

Instead of saying anything, Hayley scooted over to him and set the baby in his arms. Stefan curled an arm around her small body and tried not to think about the children he never got the chance to have with Elena. The baby stared up at him for what felt like a very long time before giving him a smile.

Hayley caught Stefan's eyes. "There are only two things I can tell you for sure. Being around this family is just inviting pain in and that Hope has given me everything I've ever wanted out of life."

Stefan watched her kiss the top of her daughter's head. "Is it worth it?"

"There are times when I really believe it is," Hayley said.

That wasn't the answer Stefan wanted.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologizes that it took so long. School got in the way.

"Your ability to find people who are willing to devote themselves to you in spite of your many character flaws is the most perplexing mystery I've encountered over the past millennia," Elijah said as Klaus walked into his older brother’s room.

"Here I was expecting a sanctimonious lecture about Stefan," Klaus said, stalking over to Elijah, "instead it appears you'd rather discuss our tumultuous brotherhood. We can get to that after you return what's mine."

"Stefan is safe," Elijah said, then added, “and not your property.” He gestured to his bed. "Sit down. We need to talk about him."

For a moment, bafflement overtook Klaus' rage. "You believe that Stefan Salvatore is devoted to me." He shook his head. "Distracting me isn't going to work." He went for Elijah's neck, but found himself kicked onto the ground. He pulled himself up. "Stefan can barely stand my presence."

"Which explains why he spent a night in your bed," Elijah said. 

Klaus punched, Elijah dodged. "Stefan was simply using me to get back at Damon."

"If that is what you truly believe, why did you allow things to go as far as they did?" Elijah asked.

This time, Klaus didn't miss. He got Elijah on the ground and set a foot on his chest. "I doubt you've missed that my affections for Stefan run more deeply than I usually allow." He got into Elijah's face, his eyes glowing from the wolf inside of him. "I saw an opportunity that I would not usually have with him and took it."

Elijah kicked his face, knocking him over. He stood up and looked down at his brother, who was wiping blood off of his jaw. "Are you telling me that you believe that he allowed you to take what you wanted from him to extract some petty vengeance on Damon?"

"Stefan is a master at protecting his life," Klaus said, "not his mental health."

To that, Elijah said nothing right away. His gaze turned to the side as it always did when he was choosing his words even more carefully than he usually did. "The exact nature of Stefan's feelings aside, you have just admitted to caring for him." Elijah closed the distance between the two of them and set both of his hands on Klaus' shoulders. "I expect you to start acting in accordance with those feelings."

Klaus struck his brother down once more. He wrapped his hand around Elijah's neck and pulled him up so they were face to face. "What game are you playing, Elijah? You and I both know that you don't give a damn about Stefan."

Elijah's air was not cut off. He could still speak, so he did, "I'm in Elena's debt." He ran a hand across Klaus' arm with a tenderness Klaus did not expect. "And I am in yours." 

Klaus tossed him aside before fleeing.

*

Damon was waiting for Elena in Stefan's guest room. "I'm going to assume that you've got my brother’s location," Damon said as he stood up from the bed. "Otherwise, there is no way that you'd let Elijah out of your sight." 

Elena closed her eyes and rubbed them. It had been over five days with little sleep since Damon showed up at her at her home, informing her that Stefan needed to be rescued ASAP. 

"You and I both know you've got Elijah wrapped around your adorable little finger," Damon continued, "so it's not like it'd take any real effort on your part to get him to fess up where he stored _my_ baby brother."

"It's not that simple," Elena said. "When it comes to Elijah's family, there is only so much I can do."

Then Damon was in front of her and looking down at her with searching eyes. "That's a pretty terrible excuse." He grabbed her wrists and pulled her up so she was standing on her toes. "There is no way you'd give up so quickly, not for Stefan. Unless you're working with him."

Elena's eyes flared red and her fangs dropped. She tried to push him away; he refused to budge. "Don't touch me!" 

"You have got to be kidding me," Damon said. "What makes you think that you can trust Elijah of all people?"

She forced herself to take a deep breath, to bury her vampirism – there was no way to beat Damon on strength alone. Not about this. Whatever rage that could fuel her powers would be easily matched by Damon, who was equally emotional about Stefan as Elena was. "He's certainly been more help than you have."

"Have you been zoning out the last few days?" Damon asked, "everything I've been doing is to protect Stefan!"

"Including the part where you were planning to keep him under house arrest with _Klaus_?" Elena asked as she shook her head. "And that's not even the worst part! The only reason we're all in this mess is because you - "

Damon advanced. "Because I what?"

Although her heart was racing, Elena forced herself to stand firm. "Because you've spent the last two months dialing up your controlling asshole tendencies up to eleven, making him think that Klaus looked good in comparison to you!" As Damon drew closer, her voice became low, "the only way you know how to deal with pain is by lashing out at the few people around you who somehow, through no merit of your own, keep giving a damn about you."

Then Damon's hand was around her throat.

"I dare you," Elena said before he could squeeze. "Burn this bridge."

"I already have," Damon said, his thumb pressing gently against her pulse point. A threat. "I'm not sure I see much of a point in keeping a few ashes around."

"In spite of everything you've put me through, I'm still standing right here," Elena said. "And if you need more proof, turn around."

Hand still around her neck, Damon turned his head. Elijah was standing at the doorway, unbuttoning his right cufflink. His left was already undone. "While I have every confidence in the world that Elena can handle you, I do believe that I could dispose of you with less property damage." He walked into the room and strolled to the bed. He ran his fingers across the comforter. "I'm rather fond of the decor in this room and would hate to see it tarnished."

"Don't worry," Elena said, turning her gaze so that she was staring at Damon straight in the eyes. "Damon was just leaving."

Damon leaned down and pressed her lip to her ear. "Don't think, for a minute, that this conversation is over."

Then he was gone and Elena was alone with Elijah.

*

Bonnie picked up her phone on the second ring. "Hey, Caroline."

"I know this is short notice," Caroline said, "but I need a really big favor from you."

Bonnie took hold of her car keys. "You want me in New Orleans to get the full story on Stefan."

"You know what's going on?" Caroline asked.

"Elena called me a few days ago," Bonnie said as she opened her car door. "I had take care of some things." _Gathering some relics from my aunts_ , she did not say. Stefan and Elena were adamant about Caroline staying out of this for as long as possible - and Bonnie could see their point, as much as she hated it. "But I'm in New Orleans right now, ready to pull a rescue mission if I have to."

"God, I love you so much," Caroline said as Bonnie grabbed a duffle bag, put it on her shoulder, and closed the door. "I love Stefan, but he's got a real knack for getting into trouble, especially when it comes to creepy supernatural creatures. It took me a few days to get it out of him, but he admitted he was still in town with Klaus. He says he needs to keep Klaus and Damon from murdering each other, but I know that there's something he's not telling me." Bonnie locked her car with a push of a button in her key chain. "I blame most of this on Damon, by the way. He's _conditioned_ Stefan to accept controlling dick behavior as normal."

"Hey," Bonnie said, "no need bring out your psych 101 textbook. Elena and I are here and we're going to take care of it. You'll be back in two months after a fantastic trip across Europe with your mom and everything will be okay."

Bonnie felt someone creep up on her as Caroline said, “I know I’m probably overreacting, but I can’t shake the feeling that things are going to get really bad."

"Take a deep breath and tell yourself things are okay,” Bonnie said, “Look, Caroline, I really have to go. I'll call you soon. I promise."

After hanging up, Bonnie turned around. Rebekah was standing in front of her.

"It says a lot about my life that an original vampire who killed my best friend can sneak up on me in the dead of night without me giving me a heart attack," Bonnie said.

"Don't be so dramatic," Rebekah said, "Elena's alive and well and getting cozy with my brother."

"Don't pout," Bonnie said as she followed Rebekah as they walked to the Mikaelson estate, "it'll give you wrinkles."

*

Marcel picked up on the third ring. "Klaus," he said, not unkindly, "it's been too long."

"Yes," Klaus said, "it has." Marcel dropped down on the couch next to Hayley. "And while I would normally be more than happy to partake in our typical banter, time is not something I can afford to spare."

"Heard you knocked someone else up," Marcel said and turned to face Hayley, who was grinning at him, as he continued, "figured you would have invested in protection by now."

"There is no need for that type of protection," Klaus said and Hayley, still grinning, held out her hand. "My pending third child, on the other hand, is in dire need of my protection."

"Our baby is safe," Hayley said after Marcel dropped the phone in her hand, "and so is Stefan. Speaking of which, I thought you had outgrown your need to treat the person you're having a child with as a walking incubator."

"If only I had the foresight to spend my more fruitful nights with less danger-prone lovers," Klaus said, "perhaps it would be a lesson that would stick. I know Davina is behind why I'm not able to track you. I am only going to ask you once: where is Stefan?"

"I already told you," Hayley said and toss the phone to Marcel.

Marcel caught it. "Like she said: safe." Then he hung up.

Stefan was looking at his phone, filled with unanswered calls from Damon and Klaus. He scrolled through his contacts until he found Elena's name and stared at it. Stefan had been instructed not to contact anyone, and he'd decided to obey, at least for the moment.

Marcel's phone rang. When he ignored it, Stefan looked up from his phone to give him a wary look. "Do you really think antagonizing him is the best idea?"

"It wasn't in Elijah's plan," Marcel admitted. His phone rang and he pressed ignore, "But he knew that I was going to improvise when he recruited me."

"I just hope your improvising doesn't lead me to be locked up in one of Klaus' darker dungeons for the rest of my life," Stefan said.

"That's not going to happen," Hayley assured him, "Elijah had them all renovated them not long after Hope was born.”

Hope, sitting on a blanket on the floor, looked up from chewing on a teddy bear and let out a loud, happy screech.

“She’s got a set of lungs on her,” Stefan remarked.

“Do me a favor,” Marcel said as he moved across the room and knelt down next to the toddler, “and don’t ever say that to Elijah. He’ll sign her up for opera lessons.” He picked her up. “And you don’t want to sing boring old songs that your Uncle Kol likes, do you?”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People talk and don't say much. Except Damon and Klaus, who do shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long ass time between updates. I'm in Grad school, which means that updates will be coming much more slowly than before. But, they will be coming!

"Would you like to talk?" Elijah asked.

Caroline and Bonnie had been asking her that all summer. Elena walked over to the bed and picked up one of the chains that had been binding Stefan for three days. She wanted to crush them. She had the power to. Instead, she set them down and turned to Elijah.

She noticed something that made her smile. "You're wearing jeans."

"Niklaus and I had a small disagreement," Elijah said. Elena had been wondering the garden outside the estate, forcing herself to clam down and not call Stefan, meaning she'd missed overhearing that fight she supposed they had over Stefan and family with a thousand years of subtext she wasn’t in the mood to ponder. She'd given Elijah one week. The petty possessive part of herself that she’d given to Damon, was telling her that it was a week too long. "A little blood was spilled so I needed to change."

"I can't believe you would run out of suits," Elena said, dropping onto the bed. She wished she was Tyler, able to pick up on scents other than blood so that she could smell Stefan’s scent without pressing her face into the pillow Klaus had provided for him that he’d been sleeping too much upon. "No wait. What I can't believe is that you own jeans at all."

Elijah smiled and said, "I overheard Damon threatening you. I wanted to get to you as quickly as possible. Putting on more casual clothing takes less time." He sat down next to her. "You don't have to change the subject, Elena. If you don't want to talk, I won't press any further."

"Thank you," Elena said, "for everything." She turned around so that she was sitting face to face with Elijah, catching his gaze with her own. "How's Stefan?"

"I haven't had a chance to check up on him," Elijah said. "However, he is in the care of two of the people I trust most in this world."

Elena said nothing. She pushed some hair behind her ears. A nervous tick that she'd mostly outgrown. Unfortunately for her, Elijah picked up on it. 

"I can understand if you don't wish to confide in me," Elijah said, "but it would be unwise to keep holding things in. It will just fester inside of you. For a vampire, that can be deadly."

 _I bet you know from experience_ Elena meant to say. "I know.” She fell back onto the bed. "Believe me, I know." She closed her eyes, tried to come up with the words. "Sometimes I think loving Damon will destroy me." 

"Elena," Elijah said. His tone was sharp and intense and it made her look at him. "I understand Stefan's devotion to Damon. The memories and blood they share bind them together and Stefan will never be able to stop hoping that the brother he loved as a child will return."

"Are you speaking from experience?"

"Do you often ask questions you already know the answers to?" Elijah asked. Elena laughed. The sound relaxed Elijah a little. "I confess that I don't quite understand where your devotion to Damon comes from."

"I don't even want to begin to unpack that," Elena said. 

"You don't have to," Elijah said. "But try to remember that you owe Damon nothing. It's okay for you to choose yourself."

She had, this summer. "Have you ever taken that advice?"

"You're young yet," Elijah said. He looked her over, like he would if he was standing in front of a mirror. "I have faith that you have the ability to avoid falling into the same patterns that I have." 

Elena was not optimistic. 

*

"Careful," Klaus said as Damon stepped out of his car, "you nearly ran me over."

"Good eye," Damon said, "I almost did." He gave Klaus a half grin. "But I'm running low on allies, so I decided to indulge in self-control."

"Let me guess," Klaus said as he walked over to Damon’s car and leaned against it, folding his arms, "you did something to piss off Elena."

"Every day," Damon said with a wave of his hand. "Got a way to find my little brother?"

"Davina, the witch who is hiding him, is quite powerful," Klaus said, "fortunately for us, I happen to have a powerful witch of my own, who will be happy to help us."

Damon got into his car and motioned for Klaus to do the same. “Steer me in the right direction.”

*

"And here we are," Rebekah said, gesturing to Stefan's room. Bonne was behind her, bag on her shoulder and smile on her face. 

Elena jumped up from the bed, breaking out in a smile of her own. "You're here."

"I'm here," Bonnie said. Elena's grin faded when Bonnie's attempts at getting inside the room ended in failure.

"Barrier spell," Rebekah said as Elijah rolled his eyes up at the ceiling. "I suppose Klaus didn't want Stefan to have easy access to Bennett witch."

Bonnie tapped her finger against the barrier. "Then he should have used a better spell." She closed her eyes and muttered a few words. The barrier became visible before dissolving in sparkles. Bonnie turned around to look at Rebekah. "That was insultingly easy."

"He wasn't seriously trying to bar you from entering," Elijah said.

Rebekah laughed before explaining, "He was just being a jackass."

"Sister, don't let him know it amused you," Elijah said, walking over to Rebekah and setting a hand on the small of her back, "it'll just encourage him." 

"I have no intention of showing him any sort of kindness anytime soon," Rebekah said, "I'm quite cross with him."

As Bonnie started to enter the room, Elijah shook his head. "I've had a room set up for you and Elena that I imagine you'd find more comfortable."

"It's bigger," Rebekah said.

Bonnie looked at Elena, who nodded.

"Sounds good to me," Bonnie said.

Elena walked over to Bonnie and looped a arm around Bonnie's elbow before turning her attention to Elijah. "Lead the way."

*

After Bonnie and Elena were settled in the guest room that Elijah had prepared for them, Rebekah tilted her head in the direction of her room as she walked down the hall. Elijah followed her.

"You're not planning on telling me where Stefan is, are you?" Rebekah asked after entering the room.

Elijah closed the door behind him. Then wrapped his hand around the lock, a decorative tool at best in a home filled with the supernatural, and twisted it. Rebekah stiffened. "The fewer who know, the better," Elijah said.

"Klaus is being his usual controlling and paranoid self," Rebekah said. She slid back from Elijah, but only briefly. Then she strode over to him. She was wearing heels, so they were standing eye to eye. "But no one is in real danger. You know that, I know that, _Klaus_ knows that. So, tell me why you're acting like we're in a war zone."

"Because it could very well turn into one if we're not careful," Elijah said as walked over to Rebekah's desk and grabbed a notebook that was lying on top of it. He grabbed a pen and wrote something down before handing it to her.

_I do not plan to let Klaus ruin whatever he has budding with Stefan._

"And exactly how careful are you being?" Rebekah asked, "taking Stefan away from Elena and Klaus is asking for trouble." She paused to grimace. "And Damon, I suppose. He can be quite the little cockroach."

As she was talking, she wrote, _You don't want Elena to overhear this, why?_

"Elena will keep Damon under control," Elijah said while he read her message, "and I shall speak to Niklaus again once he's calmed down."

He wrote, _She is protective of Stefan, and for good reason._

"At what point did our brother develop the ability to calm down?" Rebekah asked. Then she wrote, _Stefan will not be collateral damage in your quest to redeem Klaus._ She underlined the word 'not' three times before shoving the notebook in Elijah's chest.

"I have faith reason will soon kick in," Elijah said, "and if it doesn't, I know how to be persuasive with him." He wrote, _He won't be. I will not allow it._

"I suppose I'll have to trust you on that," Rebekah said.

She turned around and found her way towards her desk. Before she could sit down, Elijah’s hand was on her shoulder. Startled, she turned around. "I appreciate your vote of confidence," Elijah said. He set the notebook on her back and felt him writing another.

Rebekah made sure Elijah could see her rolling her eyes as grabbed the notebook. 

_And what of your feelings for Stefan?_

Rebekah dropped down at her desk. She tried to think of something she wanted to share about Stefan, about what he'd meant to her, what he still meant to her. There was nothing she could say in silence and in secret. _It's not going to be a problem._ She tapped the pen against her desk a few times, pondering the look on Kaus’ face when Freya had been packing up for her small journey to find answers, before adding, _I do want Nik to be happy._

She held the notebook above her head an Elijah took it. A moment later, she felt his hands on her shoulders. Elijah squeezed the gently before brushing a kiss on the top of her head.

Closing her eyes and leaning back, she said, “Don’t make me regret this.”


End file.
